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Lack of Listings Slowing Down the Housing Market

Lack of Listings Slowing Down the Housing Market

The housing crisis is finally in the rear view mirror as the real estate market moves down the road to a complete recovery. Home values are up. Home sales are up. Distressed sales (foreclosures and short sales) have fallen dramatically. It seems that 2016 will be the year that the housing market again races forward.

However, there is one thing that may cause the industry to tap the brakes: a lack of housing inventory. While buyer demand looks like it will remain strong throughout this winter, supply is not keeping up.

Here are the thoughts of a few industry experts on the subject:

Calculated Risk:

“Low inventory is probably holding down sales in many areas.”

Capital Economics:

“A lack of housing inventory continues to drive developments in the market. As demand has slowly recovered, low inventory levels have weighed on home sales.”

Frank Nothaft, Chief Economist for CoreLogic:

“Many markets have experienced a low inventory of homes for sale along with strong buyer demand... These conditions are likely to persist as we enter 2016.”

Doug Duncan,Chief Economist at Fannie Mae:

“Several factors point to constrained housing affordability in 2016, particularly for first-time home buyers, including slow single-family supply response and limited inventory of starter homes on the market.”

Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at NAR:

“Sparse inventory and affordability issues continue to impede a large pool of buyers’ ability to buy, which is holding back sales.”

Bottom Line

If you are thinking of selling, now may be the time. Demand for your house will be strong at a time when there is very little competition. That could lead to a quick sale for a really good price.

The data relating to real estate on this web site comes in part from the Internet Data Exchange Program of the Northern Michigan MLS (NM-MLSX). Real estate listings held by brokerage firms other than Coldwell Banker Schmidt REALTORS are marked with the NM-MLSX logo and the detailed information about said listing includes the listing office.

All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed and should be independently verified. All properties are subject to prior sale, change or withdrawal. Neither the listing broker(s) nor Coldwell Banker Schmidt REALTORS shall be responsible for any typographical errors, is information, misprints, and shall be held totally harmless.

The data relating to real estate on this web site comes in part from the Internet Data Exchange Program of the Water Wonderland MLS, Inc. (WWLX). Real estate listings held by brokerage firms other than Coldwell Banker Schmidt REALTORS are marked with the WWLX logo and the detailed information about said listing includes the listing office.All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed and should be independently verified. All properties are subject to prior sale, change or withdrawal. Neither the listing broker(s) nor Coldwell Banker Schmidt REALTORS shall be responsible for any typographical errors, is information, misprints, and shall be held totally harmless.

The data relating to real estate on this web site comes in part from the Internet Data Exchange Program (IDX) of the Paul Bunyan Board of REALTORS®. The listings displayed are from MLS Participants of the Wexford/Missaukee MLS Database, as so designated, who have chosen to participate in Paul Bunyan Board of REALTORS® IDX Service, through its subsidiary corporation, Paul Bunyan MLS, Inc. The detailed information about said listings includes the listing office information.The information being provided is for consumers' personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing. All information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed and should be independently verified. All properties are subject to prior sale, change or withdrawal. Neither the listing broker(s) nor Paul Bunyan Board of REALTORS® or its MLS Service, Paul Bunyan MLS, Inc., represented through display of data taken from either of its MLS databases, Wexford/Missaukee or Ros Co, shall be responsible for any typographical errors, misinformation, misprints, and shall be held totally harmless.Paul Bunyan Board of REALTORS®, Paul Bunyan MLS, Inc. All rights reserved.

All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. All properties are subject to prior sale, change or withdrawal.
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